Study: Is it a bad idea for your dog to sleep in your room?

Does your dog crawl up into bed with you each night? If so, that snuggle session may be affecting your sleep.

A new study from the Mayo Clinic found people who sleep with their pets in their room get a better night’s sleep than those who do not. But the dog needs to stay off the mattress.

Once those same people brought the dog into bed, the quality of sleep decreased.

Now granted, the study was small — just 40 adults — but it did find those who were healthy and who did not suffer from a sleeping disorder got a better night’s rest with their dog in the bedroom.

“Today, many pet owners are away from their pets for much of the day, so they want to maximize their time with them when they are home,” the study’s lead researcher, Lois Krahn, told the Atlanta Journal. “Having them in the bedroom at night is an easy way to do that. And, now, pet owners can find comfort knowing it won’t negatively impact their sleep.”

My Rottie is too big for sleeping on the bed and my cat has bedroom access priority at night. I can see why it would help though; I often fall asleep on the couch to the sound of my dog snoring.
I’m sure the same could be said of cats and possibly other pets.